Walmart Halts India-Specific Lobbying In U.S.

Walmart, on its part, has been maintaining that it has disclosed all its lobbying activities as per the U.S. rules and it did not violate any Indian regulations in this regard.

Walmart spent a total amount of $6.13 million (about 33 crore) on lobbying for various issues, including on "discussions related to FDI in India" in 2012 alone.

Lobbying is a legal activity in the U.S., but the companies and their lobbyists are required to make quarterly disclosures about the same to the U.S. Congress.

The Walmart probe committee, headed by former Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court Mukul Mudgal, was set up in January after the government announced in Parliament that it would get investigated the issue.

After looking into the matter for about three-and-a-half months, the committee submitted its report in May to the Corporate Affairs Ministry. Besides the U.S., the panel also tried to look into Walmart's lobbying activities with government officials in India.

In the meantime, Walmart last month announced a sudden exit of Raj Jain, head of its Indian venture with Bharti group. Jain and Walmart Asia President & CEO Scott Price were the key managerial personnel who represented the company before the inquiry panel.

Separately, Walmart is already facing a probe by the Enforcement Directorate here for alleged violation of FEMA (Foreign Exchange Management Act) norms.

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